Her
by Apolena Soleil
Summary: Version 3.0! :) When Balamb Garden welcomes a new transfer, Zell takes an instant liking to her. Suddenly, they fall into a whirlwind romance. Yet, she has a past...and intention...that can ruin their future.... R/R! =)
1. New Beginnings

****

"Her"

Disclaimer: As much as I would love to own Seifer…even just on Friday nights…heehee….him, along w/ all the other characters/places/concepts in FF8 belong to Squaresoft. I own Kaylia, Xane, any other character I decide to create, and this story. 

A/N: OK, so I think this is going to be the third time that I'm revising this story. LoL I just want to apologize to people who actually liked this story… (thanks a lot, guys!) …I'm just lazy. Sorry. 

Rated PG-13 for language and some themes and stuff, but I'll probably up the rating later on for some…content. I haven't decided yet. :grins:

~*Friday*~

"Everyone, open your books to page one fifty two!" Quistis told her class. "We still have a little time to go over the different elements in magic."

The class groaned. Quistis, or Instructor Trepe as she was to be addressed, was their favorite teacher, but she always went over everything they already knew. Her class was usually a social gathering of sorts. All of the Trepies were sitting up front, half listening to Quistis and half talking about her. Seifer and his posse, Raijin and Fuujin, were sitting in the corner. Squall, Zell, Irvine, Selphie and Rinoa were scattered across the middle. They were intent on staying in SeeD, so they tried to pay attention, but they couldn't help but start to talk.

"Oh boy, didn't we learn this last year?" Zell whispered as he took his book out and flipped nonchalantly through the pages.

"Hey, I didn't," Rinoa replied. "I just started SeeD, remember?" She took out her book. "This is actually kinda interesting, if you think about it."

"But Rinoa, you're a sorceress!" Selphie told her. "You don't need this."

"Still, it's good to go over." Rinoa smiled. "Right Squall?"

"Right." He said. Squall was still a bit apprehensive about being open to everyone, but he was getting there.

Irvine was looking and listening to his friends talk. He kept to himself when they started to talk like that, because like Rinoa, he transferred over to Balamb Garden. In Galbadia, he didn't learn any of this. He just trained a lot with his gun.

Quistis looked up at the clock. "Oh why bother? We only have five minutes left." She closed her books. "You can talk until the period ends." She walked over to Squall and the others and sat down. "Hey guys."

"Hi," they replied.

"Squall," Quistis said, "did you hear about a new student coming to this class today?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Well, she was supposed to be here. Her name is Kaylia. If you see her, could you show her around?"

"If I see her."

Zell was listening intently to Quistis and Squall. Rinoa and Selphie were talking about something he didn't care about, and Irvine got up and sat next to some Trepie girl. _Kaylia…. _He repeated in his mind. _She sounds pretty. _

Suddenly, the bell rang through the classroom. "Now everyone! Remember your homework!" She yelled over the commotion. "Page one fifty two!" Everyone ran to the door except Zell. He walked up to Quistis. "What's up, Zell?" She asked smiling.

"Well…who's Kaylia?" he asked softly.

"Kaylia…oh yes!" Quistis picked up her grade book. "Her name is Kaylia Paridisia. Quite a different last name." She looked at Zell. "Why do you want to know?"

"Um…well…" Zell began nervously. "I wanted to…ya know, say hi. Introduce her to Garden."

At that moment, the door opened and a young girl ran through the door. She had long, free flowing pale golden hair with bright, vivid silver streaks and big, deep, green eyes. Her skirt was unusually shorter than other girls, because she was tall, skinny……and gorgeous! She looked like one of the models that came out of the magazines, but she was ten times prettier.

"Am I late or is this just a really _really_ small class?" She said, looking from Quistis to Zell to the empty desks.

"I'm sorry, but class just ended." Quistis told her. "And you are…."

"Kaylia Paridisia." The girl said nervously, blowing hair from her eyes. She was almost the same height as Quistis, an inch or two taller perhaps. 

Zell was staring at her. _"Wow…"_ He said absently, looking into her bright emerald eyes. 

"Excuse me?" Kaylia looked at him with a grin on her face.

"Oh! Um….um, hi." Zell said.

Quistis was looking at her two students. "Kaylia, this is Zell Dincht. He'll show you around Garden. Won't you, Zell?" Zell nodded. She pushed the two students out the door. "I have to grade these papers. See you tomorrow!"

Kaylia looked at Zell. "Well…we haven't been formally introduced." She held out her hand. "I'm Ms. Kaylia Paridisia, formally of Trabia Garden."

"Really? My friend is from Trabia!" Zell exclaimed. Kaylia looked at him. "Oh." He shook her hand. "I'm Zell Dincht, of Balamb."  
  
"You grew up in Balamb?" She squealed in happiness. "Oh, I always wanted to go there…but I never did."

"Maybe I'll take you sometime. It's really nice." Zell said, smiling. _Wow….she's wonderful…_

Kaylia's eyes brightened. "That would be so cool!" She grinned. "C'mon Zell, where should we go first?"

He thought for a moment. "How about the Library? My friends are probably there anyway. I'll introduce ya." 

"OK. I've been there just a moment ago, so I know where that is." She started to run ahead, but then she stopped. "Are you coming?" She asked Zell.

He smiled. _Just like Selphie, _He thought and ran to meet her. "Here. Let's take the elevator." He pressed a button and the two doors slid open. Kaylia walked in and Zell followed. "Us SeeDs only have access to the first an' second floors, but if ya need to talk to Headmaster Cid, then you can go to the third floor. But you can only go up there with permission and an access card."

"Oh." Kaylia said as the elevator bell rang and the doors opened. She ran out of the elevator and down the stairs. There was a piece of paper on the floor. Kaylia slipped on it and fell down the remaining stairs. "Ow-ow-ow-ow-owwwwwww!" She yelled as she bounced down each step and landed on the floor. Seifer, Fuujin, and Raijin were looking down at her.

"Who are you?" Seifer asked insolently.

Kaylia looked up at him. "Why does it matter to you?" She asked defiantly. "But if you need to know, I'm Kaylia."

"Oh yeah…that girl the Instructor was talking about." Seifer smirked. 

Zell walked down the steps and looked Seifer over. "What are you doing here?" He asked him.

"I have the same question for you, Chicken Wuss." He said. Seifer looked as Zell helped Kaylia up. "Aww how cute. Chicken Wuss and…a girl?" He laughed. 

Kaylia stood and walked up to Seifer. She was only a couple of inches shorter than him, so they almost saw eye-to-eye. Instead of saying anything, she just glared at him, then backed up.

"Oh, you really scared me." Seifer joked. "What were you going to do?"

"This." Kaylia walked up to him and punched him. Hard. 

"Ow!" Seifer yelled in pain. When he looked up, Kaylia and Zell were gone. "Arrrgh!" He yelled again in frustration. 

Down the hall Kaylia and Zell were laughing. "That was really a good way to start my first day of school!" She giggled. 

"Don't worry. It's just Seifer." Zell replied. "Here's the library," He pointed out and followed Kaylia inside. 

Kaylia looked at all the books. "Ooooo! I didn't get a real look at this place." She said, picking up a book. "I'm gonna go look at the other books." She said and ran to the other aisles.

__

I think I'm starting to like her, Zell said to himself as he looked at Kaylia. She was walking around, staring at shelf after shelf of books. Suddenly, another girl bumped into her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Kaylia said, kneeling to pick up the books.

The girl bent down to help her. Her hair was a red color, with brown highlights. It was pulled back in a ponytail. "Don't worry about it," She told Kaylia. "Hey, what's your name? I haven't seen you around here."

"I'm Kaylia. Zell Dincht brought me here. He's a really sweet, wonderful guy. Do you know him?"

Kaylia waited for the girl's answer. "Excuse me? Of course I know Zell. I'm Sierra, his girlfriend!" (A/N: Hint hint, the library girl. Hehe) "What are you doing with him?"

"Nothing. He was just showing me around. Honest."

Sierra saw Zell looking at her. She stormed over to him. "Explain her to me." She said angrily.

Zell turned red. "Well…she's a transfer and I was showing her around. Honest, Sierra, nothing happened."

Kaylia walked over to them. "I'm sorry. If I knew he was your boyfriend, then I--"

"I have no _boyfriend!_" Sierra said and walked away. 

"Whoa. Why was she like that?" Kaylia asked Zell.

Zell looked down. "Well…I dunno. Sierra's been kinda edgy. You know…school and everything." He sighed. "We weren't serious anyway….well, not really."

Kaylia frowned. "I'm sorry, Zell." 

"Hey Zell!"

Zell and Kaylia turned around. Selphie, Rinoa, Quistis Irvine and Squall were standing in the doorway. Selphie ran over. "I heard Sierra talking about you, Zell. What's wrong?" She looked at him sadly. "Aw…poor Zell…you broke up? And you and Sierra were _so close_…." Selphie looked at Kaylia. "Who are you?"

"That's Kaylia." Quistis said walking towards Selphie, Zell, and Kaylia along with the others. "She transferred here. Zell was showing her around."

Selphie smiled. "You don't mean…Paridisia? From Trabia?" Kaylia nodded. "Oh! I'm Selphie Tilmitt. We weren't really that close…but I've heard of you."

"I've heard of you, Selphie," Kaylia said, smiling. "I was friends with Nevena and Aquinna. Remember them?"

"Yeah!" Selphie grinned. "Well, I'll introduce you to all these people. This is Squall, and Rinoa and Irvine. You met Quistis and Zell already."

"Hey," Kaylia said.

Squall walked up and shook her hand then saluted her. "I'm the commander of this Garden," He said. Kaylia was giggling. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. But…um, you don't have to do that…Squall? Yeah, Squall." She smiled.

Irvine pointed towards the door. "Well, we were going to the cafeteria. You can come with us." He smiled flirtatiously. 

"I'd like that," Kaylia said to Irvine.

"Here. Let me escort you," Irvine said, taking her hand.

Zell walked up to Irvine. "I'm sure she can take care of herself, Irvine." He said. Irvine knew what Zell was trying to say, so he let Kaylia's hand go. She was giggling at Zell.

"Let's just go. I'm awfully hungry." Rinoa said, walking by Zell and grabbing Kaylia. "They're weird. It's how they are every day," She whispered to her. "Irvine is a big flirt and Zell is…Zell." Kaylia laughed a little.

"What are you tellin her?" Irvine yelled. "Aw well. Let's go."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The cafeteria was _packed_. Everyone was in there ---- and that was an understatement. People were eating, talking, playing cards, arm wrestling, doing homework, checking out the opposite sex, sleeping, yelling, showing off their weapons, demonstrating magic, reading, playing hand held video games, making out, passing notes, fighting….

"Wow. Trabia was never like this." Kaylia said in awe of everything.

"Yeah. Balamb is a lot bigger than Trabia." Selphie commented.

Zell pointed over to a small booth. "There's where we can sit." Everyone hurried over there and sat down, but there was only enough room for six.

"Don't worry, I shouldn't be here anyway," Quistis said to Kaylia, getting up. "I have papers to grade."

Kaylia shook her head. "No worries." She slid in next to Squall Irvine, and Zell, who was sitting on the end. Her legs were dangling in the aisle and her back was facing Zell. "See?"

Irvine was looking over at Zell. Kaylia was squeezed up against him. Zell was starting to turn slightly red. "Guess you're not good with women?" Irvine whispered.

"Not really." He replied.

"Don't worry." Irvine said softly.

A lot of the students were looking at Kaylia. Some of the guys were whistling at her. Others were yelling "Go Zell!" A lot of the girls were whispering and looking in her direction. Seifer and his friends were in the corner, staring at Kaylia.

"Do you think these people like me?" She asked, tucking a strand of bright, shiny silver hair behind her ear.

Rinoa smiled. "They're always like this. When I came here a few months ago, they did the same thing…well, not exactly the same."

A guy walked past and gave her a note. Cautiously, Kaylia opened it and read it. "Ew! Gross!" She yelled and looked at the guy who gave it to her. He was laughing with his friends. "Excuse me," She said and walked over to them.

"No one did that to me on the first day." Rinoa said, as she watched Kaylia storm over to the guy.

She threw the note at him. "What was that?" She demanded angrily. 

"You're hot." The guy replied.

Kaylia punched him in the arm. "As flattering as that is, the note was a little over the top. Don't do it again." As she walked back to her seat, random people were cheering her. A few guys were whistling cat calls at her. She slid back next to Zell.

Selphie looked at Kaylia. "That was Aidan Hiragi. He's one of the most popular guys in school but one of the snobbiest, too." She leaned over the table and gave her a high five. "You go!" 

Squall smiled. "He was always a problem."

"Almost as bad as Seifer." Quistis added. 

"Hey Zell…what's wrong? You're not talking." Selphie said with a frown.

"Oh. I'm all right. Just…I don't know."

"Oooooo!" Selphie and Rinoa said at the same time.

Zell looked confused. "What 'Oooooo?'" He asked.

"Nothing!" Rinoa said. Quistis giggled. Irvine tapped Zell's shoulder and even Squall smiled.

"Zell and Kay-" Selphie began, but Quistis put a hand over her mouth.

"There's nothing for us in here. We should go." Quistis said with her hand still over Selphie's mouth. "It's the weekend. What should we do?"

"Wanna take the train to Timber?" Rinoa asked. 

"We haven't been there in a long time…" Squall said.

"Timber it is!" Rinoa said, clapping her hands together. "Have you ever been there, Kaylia?"

"Nope." She looked at Zell, which took some difficulty. "Have you?"

"On SeeD missions," He said awkwardly. It was tough, because if he turned his head he would be right in Kaylia's face. "We have to go through Balamb to get there."  
  
"Really?" She grinned. "I've never ever been there!" Kaylia stood up. She took Zell's hand and started to walk. "C'mon! You promised!" 

Zell stood up awkwardly. "Um…yeah I did…" A few guys were listening in on them.

"What DID you promise, Zell?" One guy said, while his friends made raunchy remarks.

He blushed. "It's nothing like that!" He yelled. 

"Gettin some from the new girl!" The same guy yelled.

"Excuse me young man!" Quistis said, getting up from her seat and taking him by the arm. "Vulgarity is not permitted in the cafeteria. If you want to do something like that, take it to the dorm room." She pulled him out of the cafeteria, along with his friends. Other kids were snickering. 

Kaylia was smiling. "Let's go!" She said.

Selphie, Irvine, Squall, and Rinoa stood up. "Yeah! Let's go!" Selphie yelled in her usual perkiness. She winked at Zell and Kaylia. Then, she ran out of the cafeteria. Irvine followed. Then Squall and Rinoa walked after them. Kaylia and Zell were left, looking at each other.

Zell was looking at the floor. "I…um, I guess we should follow them."

"….yeah." Kaylia lost her Selphie-like attitude. She quickly walked out, leaving Zell behind. He followed soon after. She was only a few feet ahead of him, so he quickly ran up to her.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Hey." She replied. "Are…those people in the cafeteria always like that?" Kaylia asked Zell.

"Not really. They've never acted like that. At least I've never seen it." Zell laughed. "Guess ya gotta get there when it's not packed…"

Zell heard Kaylia sigh. "The guys were like that in Trabia, too. I just want to find a guy who can like me because of me….Even your friend Irvine hit on me." She looked over at Zell. "You wouldn't believe how hard it is looking for a sweet guy who isn't very interested in appearance. Or at least holds personality in higher regard."

"…" Zell didn't know what to say. Kaylia was spilling all of this to him, and he wasn't all that great with emotion. "You're right. I wouldn't know how hard it is to find a guy like that."

Kaylia giggled. "That was funny…" She said quietly. "You're awfully nice Zell. Sierra was awfully lucky."

He blushed. "Nah….she wasn't that lucky."

"Really? Why?"

"Because…" Zell began, "I didn't love her like she loved me. I was just interested in casual dating, and when I found that one girl, I'd know. But…Sierra wasn't that girl. Apparently."

"I know. I'm the same way." Kaylia was quiet. "But I think I found my guy." She said softly.

Zell was struck dumb. "Wha…?" He said, confused.

Kaylia looked into his eyes. "You." She almost whispered. "I saw you. There was this…this aura. I knew you were the one." Suddenly, she looked away as if someone hit her in the face. "But…that's how I feel." Her eyes were sorrowful. "You probably don't feel the same way."

Zell stopped walking. "Kaylia…don't say that. I don't know _how_ I feel about you yet. I just…I just _met_ you today." 

"Yeah…I understand."

"But…when Irvine tried to hold your hand, an' when those guys in the cafeteria were whistling at you and everything, I couldn't help but feel….kinda jealous."

"Really?" She asked softly. Zell nodded. "Oh…" Kaylia giggled. "That's kind of…sweet." Strands of silvery blond hair fell in her face. 

Zell walked up to her and brushed them out of her face for her. He had to stretch a little because she was a bit taller than he was. Kaylia laughed. Zell blushed a little then began to laugh with her. Suddenly, Selphie walked up to them. "Heyyy! You guys! Are you coming? We're waiiiting!" Selphie stopped talking and looked at Kaylia and Zell…standing so close together. "Oooooo!" She yelled and ran off, singing "Zell and Kaylia Sitting In A Tree."

Kaylia sighed. "Selphie hasn't changed a bit since I last saw her. She was like that when I was with my first boyfriend."

"You had a boyfriend?" Zell looked at her.

"Yup. And only one. I was never a dater, but…his name was Xane. I thought he was the greatest guy alive. He had such a sleek, professional look…jet black hair, crimson eyes…oh, I really loved his eyes." Kaylia suddenly stopped and covered her eyes with her hand. "I trusted his eyes….but, one day…he just lost it." 

Zell was shocked. _Someone as beautiful as Kaylia…abused? _"What happened?" He asked her.

"I don't know where we went wrong. One day, I was just hanging out in my dorm…singing, cleaning up, hanging out, you know... Then, Xane came over. He just walked in and…and…" She began to cry. 

"You don't have to go on." Zell walked up to her.

"No…I want to." Kaylia sighed. "I turned around to say hello and kiss him. But instead of getting a kiss on the cheek…he hit me. At first, I didn't believe it. I never really saw anything…or experienced anything like that. I remember…touching my hand to my face…and asking him why he did what he did. But…he just slapped me again. Then, they turned into punches." She touched her cheek. "I can still remember the pain of it, you know? That day…we totally went down the gutter. Xane…he abused me. Raped me once or twice, maybe. For two years." 

Zell's heart went out to Kaylia. He knew what it was like to be abused. His first foster family wasn't the best of places. 

"And now look at me." Kaylia went on. "Everyone thinks I'm so wonderful…that my life was perfect. One look at me and they think all these great things about me. But…I spent my whole real life at Trabia. It's like home. I loved being there. But Xane made it so bad for me, especially after it was destroyed. Then…I pick up and move to Balamb? It's too hard…"

Zell finally realized why Kaylia was the way she was. _She's always happy and tough because she needs to hide the pain. _

"That's why I hit that boy, Seifer…or whatever… earlier. He was so much like Xane…it scared me. But, I didn't show it. I do that kinda stuff to hide the pain of being abused and neglected. And that's why I'm looking for a guy who's not interested in appearance. Because…that's why Xane wanted me. I was a pretty face. But he…that was it."

"Kaylia…" Zell murmured, not knowing what to say. He walked up to her and she fell in his arms. Although she was a bit taller, she still fell gracefully. Zell held her close to him. "You're all right now…" He suddenly remembered his friends were waiting for him. "Kaylia…do you still want to go to Balamb?" She nodded. "All right. Hold on." He reached into his pocket and took out a cellular phone he used to keep in touch with Squall and the others. All SeeDs had one. Quickly, he called Squall's number.

"Hello?" Squall said quietly.

"Hey, it's Zell."

"Are you coming?" Squall asked impatiently.

"No, not with you guys." Zell paused. "It's Kaylia…she's kinda…not feeling well."

"Oh. Alright. If you decided to come, we'll be here the whole weekend." Suddenly there was yelling and commotion in the background. "No…I think we're going to come home tonight. Bye." Then Squall hung up.

Zell put the phone back in his pocket. _What am I gonna do? _He whispered in his mind. _I have a girl on my hands to take care of. Damn…this never happened with Sierra. Oh boy…I don't even _know _her, and she's telling me she loves me. Oh boy…._

Kaylia had her head resting on Zell's shoulder. Her tears soaked the shoulder of his jacket. "I'm sorry," She apologized softly. "I just dropped all of this on you…"

"You don't have to be." Zell didn't know what else to say. He had next to no experience in this field. Sierra was a very independent girl who knew exactly what she wanted, and she didn't need Zell as much as Kaylia seemed to. Out of the corner of his mind, he thought of something that might make her feel better. "I know about a really nice place that you'll like. C'mon." He softly nudged Kaylia off his shoulder. "Do you like to dance?" He asked. _I hope what I'm doing is right…knowing what I usually do is almost always wrong, I know this probably won't go good._

"A little." Kaylia wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand and managed a small smile.

"Then you're going to like this." He grabbed her wrist and led her down the hall and to the ballroom.

It was dead quiet. The moon shone bright and lit up a spot at the center of the floor. Stars dotted the sky. "We usually have all of our dances in here. As a matter of fact, there's going to be one Monday. There's usually one every other month or so. They like to keep us entertained, so we're not out causing trouble or anything…" Zell grinned, because Kaylia was wide-eyed and in awe. _I guess this _isn't_ as bad as I thought._

"This is so pretty…" She trailed off and ran to the moonbeam at the center of the floor. It made her look even lovelier than she usually did. Zell's jaw almost dropped just looking at her. "C'mere!" 

Zell anxiously walked over to her. Kaylia looked so beautiful, and he also was glad she wasn't crying anymore. He didn't say anything as she took his hand and put it on her waist. "Well…you asked me if I liked to dance, Zell." She put her hand on his shoulder and started to dance. "One two three…one two three…"

He was never that great of a dancer, and stepped on her feet a couple of times. "Sorry." 

Kaylia stopped. "Here…maybe you're one of those guys who can't dance without music." She began to hum a familiar tune…'Waltz To The Moon.' "Do you know that one?"

"Yeah." He smiled at her as she put a hand on his shoulder and they tried to dance again. 

"So…are _you_ going to that dance tomorrow night?" Kaylia asked after she stopped humming. Zell had gotten the hang of it.

"I would if I could find someone to go with. It's kind of a couples dance…and I only went to one or two of them with Sierra."

Kaylia spun around and then stopped altogether. "Really?" The moonlight made her skin look like ivory and her eyes like two jewels. "Well…I don't know anyone else besides you really…and I know Irvine's going with Selphie and Rinoa will probably go with Squall." She paused. "Are you going with Quistis?"

"No…I don't date my teacher." Zell grinned. "Seifer does, though."

"That makes sense." She looked at her feet. "Well…do you think that…we, could go…together?"

Zell took his hands off Kaylia. "Uh….well, I guess we could…" He was apprehensive about the whole thing. Kaylia only met him earlier that day…

She grinned and threw her arms around his neck. "We're gonna have a great time!" She exclaimed. "I'll be seeing you. I should go back to my room, now shouldn't I?" She paused. "Oh yeah…Zell, I wanna apologize for before. My past really shouldn't be any of your concern, unless...ah, don't worry about it." Kaylia ran off, leaving Zell in a daze. _She likes me? But…she only met me earlier today? What's up with her?_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*Monday*~

Quistis was sitting behind her desk. _Another school day…_ she thought. The weekend went by so quickly. All of her students were in their rightful seats except for Rinoa and Kaylia. They were sharing a room, and one of them probably had to wait for the other. Quistis sighed and looked at her students.

"Did you all at least read page one fifty two?" She asked, flipping through her grade book. 

"Yes." The students replied simultaneously.

Quistis smiled and clapped her hands together. "Good! It's not often all of you do your homework. Maybe it's because I said that if you don't do it all this week, you don't go to the big dance tonight." She stood up and faced the board. "Anyway, now we'll look at….page one fifty five."

Squall, Irvine and Zell were sitting in the back of the classroom. Selphie was up front by the Trepies. "Boy, Selphie always sits by us." Irvine said sadly, looking at her. "I wish she was back here."

"Is that all you ever think about?" Squall asked him as he took out his book.

"No. As a matter of fact, I think about other things."

Squall rolled his eyes. "Like what?"

Irvine paused. "Give me a minute."

Zell, on the other hand, was gazing out the window. He was in a delightful trance, thinking about the dance later that night. Irvine waved a hand in front of his face. "Yoo-hoo? Zell?" Zell snapped out of his reverie and looked at Irvine.

"What?"

Irvine sighed. "Ya gotta get your book out or you won't learn this stuff, Zell." 

He picked up his book and put it on his desk. "There. Happy?"

"Gee, Zell. You don't have to get angry." Irvine then looked up at the board as Quistis began to write some formulas.

"Do you see, class? You can tell the Recov Mag-RF ability from the GFRecov Med-RF ability because of two reasons. The first one…" She saw Zell as Irvine was looking over at him. "Are you all right, Zell?" She asked him nonchalantly.

"Huh? Yeah?" He smiled. "I'm fine."

"All right. Don't doze off on me." She started to begin her lesson just as Kaylia and Rinoa walked in the door.

"I'm sorry, Quis- I mean, Instructor Trepe. We had to do some work in preparation for the dance tonight." Rinoa looked at Squall and smiled.

"Yeah. We were walking past the Garden Festival Committee and they looked like they needed the help."

Quistis sighed. "Oh…all right. I know you two." She looked at her students…mostly the male ones. Even Seifer and Raijin were in awe at Kaylia's beauty. Zell was grinning his head off, and Squall was looking at him in disbelief.

Kaylia walked to the back and sat next to Zell. "Hey," she said as she pulled out her book and looked through the pages.

"Uh…hi." He replied. She looked even prettier then when she walked in the class yesterday.

Irvine frowned. "You always get the best ones, Zell."

Squall shook his shoulder. "Zell never gets _any_ of them." He whispered softly.

"Oh…yeah!"

Rinoa was gazing over at Zell and Kaylia. "The sparks are flying!" she whispered, giggling.

"Are you paying attention back there?" Quistis said, frowning. "You better listen, or you five won't be passing your test on Friday!" She returned to explaining the refining of magic in its most technical terms.

"Are you going to the dance tonight?" Rinoa whispered to Kaylia.

"Um…yeah." She smiled.

Rinoa giggled. "Who are you going with? It's a couples dance, you know."

"Don't worry. You'll see," She said, looking at Zell. He was turning slightly red. Rinoa suddenly realized who Kaylia was going with.

"Oooh…." She grinned.

Squall and Irvine were looking at Zell curiously. Before Kaylia sat down, his head was in the clouds. Now all of his attention was on her. "There's somethin up," Irvine said softly.

"I know," Squall said, smiling --- obviously a rare sight. "Finally." Irvine chuckled, because besides for Sierra, who else was Zell really interested in?

Zell couldn't take his eyes off Kaylia. _Wow…she looks so pretty today…_he thought. "So…how are you?" He whispered, trying to make conversation.

Her attention was directed toward the board, but she looked over at Zell. "I'm pretty good," She whispered. "Excited about tonight." She winked at him and looked back at the board.

Zell promptly turned pink. "Wow…" he murmured.

"Are you all right?" Irvine asked, poking Zell with his pen. Zell nodded dreamily. Just then, the end of period bell rang loudly throughout the class. "This boy needs our help." Irvine said to Squall. 

"_Our_ help?" Squall looked confused. "As in you…and me?"

"Yes! Zell has a date with Kaylia. Tonight. This lifetime. And compared to every other guy in school he hasn't even hit _puberty_ yet!"

"Oh," Squall said.

Meanwhile, Zell was walking down the halls, looking for Irvine, Squall, or one of his other friends. What he did find surprised him. "What the…?"

Seifer was flirting with Kaylia, only a few feet away from where Zell was standing. "So, Kaylia…you are easily the most beautiful girl in this school, you know."

She smiled. _Boy, this guy is trying way too hard. _"Thank you…um, Seifer was it?"

He wrapped his arm around her. "It can be anything you want it to be, sweetheart."

Kaylia slipped out of his arms. "Seifer…if you need a date for tonight, why don't you go with that gray haired girl that always hangs around you? She seems all right…and I already have a date."

"But…" Seifer frowned. "Fuujin is just a friend. And anyway, all of the students expect the most popular guy and girl to go together, right?"

"So why should I go with you, then? By the way you're acting, you're only making me want to throw up more." Kaylia smiled. "Besides, I wouldn't give up my date for the world."

"Who is it?"

Zell decided to intervene. He walked up to Kaylia and Seifer. "It's me." Seifer looked shocked. "Aw, what's wrong? Sad cause you were just dumped by the most beautiful girl in Garden?" Zell was certainly enjoying the moment. "And Kaylia's right. I'm sure Fuujin needs someone to go with. And anyway, she probably also needs someone who can pick out a good dress." He winked and led Kaylia away from him.

Kaylia was staring at Zell. "Boy…that was great!" She said. Zell grinned.

"It's what I've always been good at." He suddenly saw Irvine and Squall walking towards him. "Um…Kaylia, would you excuse me for a second?"

"Sure Zell. Whatabout?" She saw Irvine and Squall too. "Oh…boy talk." Kaylia grinned. "I'll be seeing ya!"

Zell looked at the two boys. "Hey, guys. What's up? Besides you two?" He had to look up at both of them because they were so tall.

"We're here to help you." Irvine said, winking.

"Um…yeah. I guess so. What he says." Squall really didn't like the idea of tampering with Zell's love life….if he actually had much of one…

"Help? Why do I need help?" Zell lost his smile.

Irvine put a hand on Zell's shoulder. "It's because the big dance is tonight."

"We thought that you could use some pointers." Squall looked over at Irvine. He was the commander of Balamb Garden, but that didn't mean that he knew everything, especially in the subject of love. But when something as rare as Zell and a date came up, it was worth getting involved.

"…pointers?" Zell began to look nervous. "Is a date really _that_ complicated?"

"No…" Irvine smiled. "But it helps to know what you're doing."

Zell smiled. "Fine. But I only have…until four. Then I have to get ready for tonight."

"We know. We have to get ready too." Irvine led Zell down the hall. "Now, the first thing you need to know…"

Squall watched them. "This is going to be interesting…"


	2. Whirlwind Romance

"Her"

****

Zell, Irvine, and Squall were sitting in Zell's dorm. "I think we should just let Zell be." Squall looked at Irvine. "He doesn't need our help."

Irvine frowned. "You're right…but Zell, Kaylia looks like a first class girl. You know what to do?"

"It's no big deal." Zell led Irvine out the door. "I'll handle it." Squall followed him out the door. "See ya tonight, Squall." When the all left, Zell sat on his bed. "Oh boy…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Meanwhile, Kaylia was walking down the hall with Rinoa, Selphie, and Quistis. "Who are you going with to the dance tonight?" Kaylia asked the girls.

"I'm going with Squall." Rinoa said dreamily.

"Like we didn't know. You two are such an _item_!" Selphie said, giggling. "Well…it's true! Oh yeah…I'm going with Irvine. What about you, Quisty?"

Quistis sighed. "Seifer." Rinoa and Selphie giggled. "Only as a _friendly_ thing…not an actual date. He asked me. And, he didn't have anyone…and I didn't have anyone..." She looked at Kaylia. "There's so many guys that want to go with you, Kaylia. Who's the lucky one?"

Kaylia sighed dreamily. "…_Zell_." Quistis, Rinoa, and Selphie laughed. "What? Is there something wrong with that?"

"No…no." Rinoa put a hand on Kaylia's shoulder. "But this is Zell Dincht, you know. He's…not exactly your type."

"Rinoa's right." Selphie looked over at her. "And anyway…he didn't even officially break up with Sierra yet."

"But I know he does like you." Quistis added softly. Selphie and Rinoa looked at her in disbelief. "Teachers know their students. Today during class…he looked so lost until you arrived."

Kaylia grinned, then she saw Squall and Irvine walking down the hall. "Oh! Look!"

The two boys stopped when they saw the four girls. "Hey, ladies." Irvine said as Selphie ran up to him. "How are you all?"

"We're good." Rinoa looked at Squall. "Where were you two?"

"Visiting Zell." The girls squealed as Kaylia looked at them in embarrassment. Squall looked confused. "What?"

"It's nothing." Kaylia said and walked away from them.

Selphie watched her leave. "Where is she going?"

"I don't know." Rinoa suddenly smiled a devilish smile. "Hey…we all know Kaylia is going to the dance with Zell tonight, right?" Everyone nodded. "Well, we should do something that would bring them together."

Selphie grinned. "Like what? Aren't they already GOING together?"

Rinoa thought for a minute. "Oh! I have a plan…" She and her friends got in a little circle and she told them her plan. "This is what we're going to do…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The stage was set. It was seven o'clock as Kaylia looked at herself in her mirror. She was wearing a long, metallic silky silver, somewhat clingy dress that matched the highlights in her hair. Her cheeks glittered from the makeup that she had on. Smoky silver eyeshadow surrounded her emerald eyes. Kaylia's face was framed by her long pale hair falling in wisps around her cheeks and cascading down her back. She giggled. 

"Oh! This is going to be sooo much fun." Suddenly, there was knocking on her door. "Coming!" Kaylia ran and opened the door. Rinoa, Selphie, Irvine, and Squall were standing in front of her. "Hey guys! Come on in!" 

Rinoa was wearing a short, glittery sky blue dress. Selphie had a dress on that was similar to Rinoa's, but it was the brightest yellow Kaylia had ever seen. Irvine and Squall were both wearing SeeD uniforms--although what separated them was that Irvine had a cowboy hat on that matched his uniform. Kaylia smiled. "Where's Zell?"

"He's waiting for you." Rinoa said, grinning from ear to ear.

Kaylia grabbed her silver purse and silk wrap, both of which matched her gown. "Shall we go?" She asked, as she took Squall jokingly by the arm. Rinoa mock frowned, then took Squall by his other arm. The five of them walked to the ballroom.

The ballroom was buzzing with people. Balamb invited students from Trabia and Galbadia Gardens to join in, so there were more people than usual. All heads turned when Squall and the others walked in. Most of the guys were eyeing Kaylia, as she stood out from many of the other girls.

"This is great!" Kaylia said, grinning. "I've never been to something like this." She had to stick close to her friends, or she would have lost them. "Squall…where's Zell?"

Squall smiled…something he really didn't do. "He's somewhere around here." The balcony came into the corner of his eye. That was where he told Zell to wait for Kaylia. "Maybe he's over there," He said, pointing to the balcony.

Kaylia smiled. "He probably is. Thanks!" She ran over to the balcony, as her friends watched. Suddenly, Quistis and Seifer walked up to them.

"Does she know the plan?" Quistis asked. Rinoa shook her head. "This is going to be so cute!" 

Seifer looked confused. "What plan?"

"We set up Zell and Kaylia." Rinoa grinned. "They look so sweet!" As they stood there, watching Kaylia, 'Waltz to The Moon' began to play. Rinoa grabbed Squall. "Dance with me?" She asked. Squall nodded, and they walked onto the dance floor.

Meanwhile, Kaylia was making her way to the balcony. She noticed a few guys looking at her, but she shrugged them off. _If this is a couples dance, then they should be looking at their dates. _Finally, Kaylia made it to the balcony…but there was no one waiting for her. "Zell?" Kaylia whispered, but no one answered her. She sighed and leaned against the side of the balcony, looking down. Below her was a tiny pond. Kaylia began to cry. Her tears fell to the waters below. "He stood me up…"

"Not necessarily." 

Kaylia turned around. Zell was standing there, outfitted in his SeeD uniform. His usually crazy looking hair was slicked back, making him look strikingly handsome. "Zell!"

He looked at his date and almost lost his head. "Kaylia…you-you look…phenomenal." She blushed at his comment. "I'm sorry I'm late. This hair of mine…"

She walked up to him and took him by the arm. "It's all right. Would you like to dance?"

"I thought the guys asked the girls that." Zell didn't protest though, and led his date into the ballroom and onto the dance floor. Squall and Rinoa waltzed by them, as did Seifer and Quistis. "This is where that practice pays off…" Zell said, and wrapped his one arm around Kaylia's waist and took her hand with the other.

At first, they were awkward with each other. Kaylia knew what she was doing, but Zell stepped on her feet a few times. "Just dance like no one is watching." Kaylia told him. He began to dance well after that--even better than Kaylia. "Hey! Don't leave me in the dust!" She said, laughing. Zell spun her around and they continued to dance.

Irvine and Selphie were watching them dance. "I never thought they would compliment each other that well…" Irvine said.

"Who? Kaylia and Zell?" Selphie looked up at Irvine. He nodded. "They say opposites attract, Irvy. Of all people, _you_ should know that." She giggled. "C'mon, I feel like dancing, too." Selphie grabbed Irvine's hand and brought him onto the floor. He spun her around playfully, then they waltzed like pros.

"I think I'm getting used to this," Zell said as he spun Kaylia for a second time. Just as she turned around, the song changed to a slow tune.

Kaylia relaxed into Zell's arms. "Ah…that's better. I was getting tired. And dizzy, from all that spinning." She wrapped her arms around Zell's neck. 

Suddenly, the music faded a bit as Headmaster Cid came on the microphone. "Hello everyone!" He said cheerfully. All of the students cheered. "I hope all of you are having a good time, especially those of you from Trabia and Galbadia. Now I'd like to give the microphone over to Quistis Trepe, an Instructor here at Garden." The Balamb students cheered as Quistis took the microphone. 

"Hello, everyone." Quistis couldn't help but giggle. "Well, normally I wouldn't have been so bold as to come up on stage and request a song…_but_…" She turned to the orchestra. "I need you guys to play a special song for two of my friends, if you could."

"What is she doing?" Zell asked.

Selphie bounded up onto the stage and yelled into the mic, "Hey! Zell and Kaylia! This one's for you!"

Kaylia started to laugh and buried her face in Zell's shoulder. "Oh, Hyne…" She looked up just in time to see Rinoa walk onto the stage. "Hey, look!"

Rinoa smiled as a few people clapped for her. She walked over to a piano on the corner of the stage, sat down, and began to play 'Eyes on Me.' The orchestra quickly followed her, and soon the ballroom floor was packed with slow dancing couples.

"Darling so there you are…with that look on your face…" Kaylia sang softly into Zell's ear with a beautiful soprano voice. He grinned at her. "As if you're never hurt...as if you're never down...um…lalala…" She giggled and stopped singing because she obviously forgot the words. Kaylia looked around at the other people dancing. "Oh look…there's that girl Sierra."

Zell turned and looked at her. "Yeah…but who's that she's dancing with?" 

Kaylia looked closely at the guy. He had jet black hair and crimson eyes. He was also wearing a Trabia Garden uniform. She gasped. "Oh no…how did he get here?" 

"What's wrong?" Zell asked her…but she didn't have to say anything. The guy was glaring at Kaylia with those violent eyes. Kaylia let go of Zell.

"Xane…" She whispered, and ran off the floor, bumping into couples in her hurry. Xane let go of Sierra and followed Kaylia. Zell was left alone, standing in the center of the floor. _Xane…isn't that Kaylia's ex-boyfriend? _His heart froze.

"Kaylia!" He yelled, turning the heads of people silently enveloped in the music. Zell ran quickly off the floor and looked around.

Rinoa and Squall walked up to him. "What's wrong, Zell?" Rinoa asked him.

"I can't find Kaylia!" Rinoa looked confused. Zell sighed. "She's in danger."

Squall, who had his gunblade with him, unsheathed it. "Well then, come on." He began to walk away, but Zell grabbed him.

"No Squall…I have to do this myself." Squall didn't say anything as Zell sprinted out of the ballroom.

Zell looked around frantically for Kaylia, but he didn't find her. He looked for over a half an hour…but it was no use. Dejected, he walked back to the ballroom. _Kaylia…how could you? You knew I wouldn't let him touch you. Now what am I going to do…I miss you._

He was thinking about what the others would say when he came back alone. They seemed to know how much he cared about her (even if he _had_ only known her a day)…especially Rinoa. If they didn't find her, Zell knew she would feel bad for him.

Suddenly, a high pitched scream pierced the air. "The hell…?" Zell froze. In front of him was none other than Kaylia…but why was she on the floor?

Xane came into view. He kneeled by Kaylia, and grabbed her aggressively. "What were you doing with that guy?!" He demanded angrily. She didn't reply, so he shook her. "TELL ME!"

"Please…Xane. I didn't-I didn't mean to…he's my friend." Kaylia's eyes were blazing with fear. 

"Yeah…right. A friend." Xane slapped her. She screamed in pain and began to cry. "That should teach you to tell me the truth next time. You're pitiful, Kaylia. Pitiful…useless…" He touched her face where he slapped her almost adoringly. "You know I'm the only one for you…we worked together. A team." He breathed on her neck and gave her a wicked kiss, which would have led to something more.

Zell couldn't take it anymore. "What in hell are you doing to her?!"

"ZELL!" Kaylia screamed.

Xane turned to face Zell. Kaylia was still being held in Xane's powerful grasp. "Oh…you're the friend." He threw Kaylia violently to the side. She hit the wall and lost consciousness. "I'll teach you to mess with my girlfriend." He ran towards Zell, but in hand to hand combat, Zell was better than Xane by far. He pounded on him once or twice, then hit him with an uppercut that knocked the wind out of him. "You…bastard." Xane reached into his back pocket and took out a blade. "Don't leave home without it…" Zell gasped as he ran towards him. Xane cut him a few times, but Zell pushed him backward, not even realizing the cuts on his arms.

"Zell?" He spun around and saw Rinoa walking the halls with Quistis and Seifer. When she saw the blood on Zell and Kaylia beaten, she gasped. "Quistis! Seifer!" They ran beside her. "What happened?"

Zell saw the blade on the floor and picked it up. "It's his…" He said, pointing to Xane. "He-I…he was why Kaylia ran off the floor. He was her ex…he _abused_ her, for Hyne's sake!" Quistis and Seifer both knew the pain of abuse, just as Zell knew. All three were children of the same orphanage, and all three were unfortunate enough to have some sort of an abusive life.

Quistis ran towards Kaylia as Seifer grabbed Xane. "You're in for a little trouble, buddy." He said. "What do I do with him?"  
  
"Bring him to Garden Security," Quistis said. Seifer dragged him away. "Oh, Kaylia…"

Rinoa and Zell ran and fell beside Quistis. "Is she gonna be all right?" Zell asked impatiently, taking Kaylia in his arms.

Rinoa looked at Zell, holding the girl in his arms, oblivious to the fact he was injured himself and putting Kaylia before him. She smiled. "Kaylia will probably be fine. We should get her to Dr. Kadowaki though."

"No!" Zell said. "This was all my fault…I wanna correct my mistake."

"How?" Quistis looked him in the eye. "You don't know anything about medical care."

"You don't know that, Quistis." Zell looked down at Kaylia. "Believe it or not, she's not that badly hurt...but her injuries are still serious, or at least will be if they're not treated." Rinoa and Quistis looked at Zell in amazement. "What, you thought I didn't know that? It's obvious."

"Please…let's just get her to safety." Rinoa stood up. "Want me to get Squall?"

"Yeah." Quistis turned to Zell. "You need help?"

"No. She'll be with me. You all know where. All right?" He gingerly picked Kaylia up, careful not to hurt her, and ran towards the dormitory. _Aw, please be all right, Kaylia. Don't fail on me now. C'mon girl. _His shoes made loud squeaks as he bolted from corridor to corridor. Zell ran faster then he ever did for anything else. When he reached the dormitory, he picked up even more speed. Unfortunately, that wasn't such a good idea, and he fell, dropping Kaylia. "Dammit!" He ran up to her and fell on his knees. "Please…Kaylia. Can you hear me?" He felt his face get hot and the tears came. This…beautiful, angelic young woman was in such a bad state. _And it's all my fault. _He buried his face in his hands. "Oh…what am I gonna do? _What?"_

"Zell?" Squall was standing a few feet behind him. "What are you doing?" He ran up to him and kneeled beside him. "I'm going to help you."

"No. I want to do this myself."

Zell never looked so serious in his life. "Zell…there's no way. I have to." Squall picked Kaylia up and walked slowly to Zell's dorm. "There's no need to worry," He said softly, looking at his best friend. He noticed Zell wouldn't take his eyes off of Kaylia as they walked down the hall. When they reached the dorm, Squall laid Kaylia down softly on Zell's bed. "Now can you handle it?" Squall looked concerned.

"Yeah." Zell pulled up a chair from his desk and sat next to his bed. "I can do this…I'm not in the orphanage anymore, Squall. I'm seventeen. Not five. I think I'm capable of taking care of someone else. You don't have to worry about me or Kaylia." He sighed. "I take care of the ones I love."

"Love?" Squall looked at him in disbelief. "_Love?_ You've only known Kaylia a weekend!"

Zell's eyes widened. "I said love?" He shook his head. "Squall…I didn't even know I said that. It just…fit."

Squall sighed. "I'm going to leave you…all right, Zell? Keep your cool." He walked out, leaving Zell with an unconscious Kaylia.

Kaylia looked so peaceful laying there. Her hair flowed around her face, her lips slightly parted. The moonlight, the only light in the room, flooded onto her face, making her look so….radiant. "Oh man...look what I did now…" Zell said, panicking. "I hurt her. Why should she want to see me again?" He took in a deep breath. "Calm down, Zell. The only thing that's important is taking care of Kaylia, whether she likes me or not. It's the only thing to do." Zell shut his eyes for a second, then went to get a towel and some water from his bathroom. Once he got it, he ran towards Kaylia and put the towel on her forehead. "I guess it's a start."

Until late hours in the night, Zell sat by Kaylia's side with that towel. He knew what a bad beating like hers felt like. _Please wake up._

Around midnight, the wind began to pick outside and rap against Zell's window. Kaylia was still laying, the only movement she made was her chest going up and down from her soft breathing. Zell was growing more nervous by the moment. Even he didn't stay unconscious for that long when he was in bad shape. "Kaylia…" He whispered softly. "Please, you have to wake up. If you don't…I'll feel bad for the rest of my life. This is all my fault. If I didn't let you go or if I let Squall help me, you would be fine. I'm…I'm so sorry…" He wished with all of his hurting heart that she would wake up at that very moment… "Please…you gotta wake up. Open your eyes…" A single tear from his eye fell on her pale hand. It glistened there for a moment, then rolled onto the bedsheets. Zell had to get more water from the bathroom. Reluctantly, he left Kaylia's side and walked to the sink. _Kaylia…what would happen if she-- _

His thoughts were interrupted by a faint voice he could barely hear over the water running. "So let me be the one…who pinches you softly, but sure. If frown is shown then…I will know…" Zell's eyes widened and he raced over to Kaylia. She looked at him and smiled warmly in the moonlight. "That you are no dreamer." Zell stuttered in disbelief. "I remembered the rest…" She said softly, and smiled. 

"Kaylia…you-you…?"

"I'm all right." She touched her hand to her face. "Just a little bruised. I'm used to it."

"Used to it?" Zell looked at her curiously.

Kaylia nodded sadly. "Yeah. This used to happen to me every day, you know." She got a good look at Zell's face and gasped. "Oh! Look at you! There's blood all over!" The towel Zell was using was laying on the bed, and she took it and motioned for Zell to come by her and sit. "Aw…look at that." She said, putting the towel to his arm and showing it to him.

"Whoa. I didn't realize that." He looked at her. "Thanks."

"No, no…I should be thanking you." She said, wiping his other arm.

"Why? It was my fault you got hurt."

Kaylia's eyes widened. "_Your_ fault?" She shook her head. "No…it wasn't. I don't blame you for anything."

"You should." Zell sighed. "Cause I let you go. Did I stop you? No. Did I let Squall help me? No. It was all me." He looked down at the floor. 

She scooted over next to Zell and put her arm around his shoulders, trying to look him in the face. "Don't beat yourself up over this, Zell. What happened…happened. It was good that it did, though."  
  
"How?"

"I know you better." Kaylia grinned. "I feel like I've known you forever…that's the type of person you are. Happy-go-lucky, funny…you understand everybody. That's why I like you. You're just…unique."

"_Unique_?" Zell looked up at Kaylia. "I'm unique?"

"Not in a bad way. I would never mean it like that." She saw Zell's face look so uplifted. There were also tears in his eyes. "Zell? Why are you crying?"

"I'm happy." He looked at Kaylia. "You can explain me better then anyone else could. No one ever really bothered to, to tell you the truth." Kaylia blushed. "You're great, Kaylia."

"Thanks. You ain't so bad yourself." She giggled and stood up. "I'm feeling a lot better. And it's twelve thirty. I should get going."

Zell opened his mouth to say something, but another thing came out. "All right. If that's what you want." He stood and walked her to his door. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"First thing in the morning." She opened the door and walked out. _Gee, Zell's so great! Am I falling in love with him? I mean, it's only been a day. Wow…I guess my friends were right when they said love comes faster than you want it to. But I do want it to happen. For once, I want more. Kaylia Dincht…hehe! _

Zell watched her walk down the hall. He wanted to make sure she wouldn't get hurt, but he saw her let herself into her room. "Wow…" He said dreamily. _Everything about her fits what I've wanted in a girl…Wow. I mean, _wow_. Wow. _He looked at where Kaylia was for a few more minutes, leaning against the door frame and dreaming, until he stopped and walked back in. Almost immediately, he fell on his bed, closed his eyes, and continued where he left off in the door frame.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	3. Dreaming of You

"Her"

**** __

"Zell…Zell…wake up…I'm here…"

What? Who is this?

"You know."

…no, I don't think I do.

"Yes. In your heart, you do…I'm sorry."

For what?

"For everything. I didn't mean it…I want you to know that."

What?

"I left you there. In your bassinet. Crying…I hoped those Balamb SeeDs would find you. But before I left, a lovely young woman came by…and I told her where you were."

No way…

"She ran an orphanage. I told her that I needed out…and I didn't want anything to happen to my baby. Life was hard, Zell. So hard…"

Mom?

****

"Zell? Hey, Zell! Wake up!"

"Wha…!"

Zell awoke to a violent shaking. "Hey!!!" When his eyes focused, they met a pretty pair of green, vivid eyes. "Zell, geez, what were YOU dreaming about?"

"Selphie?" Zell held his head in his hands. "Oh…headache…"

She sat down next to him. "Yeah, that kinda stinks. Um…why are you still dressed in your SeeD uniform?"

"Ooo….whoops."

Selphie giggled. "Now you have to iron them and everything!" She tsked. "Well, I think you're kind of late."

"Late? For what?"

"Kaylia took some kind of SeeD exam today. No one knew. She should be back now."

Zell jumped up. "Really?" Selphie nodded as he tore through his drawers, looking for his shirt and shorts. He quickly took off his dress shirt and was about to slip his black shirt on when he remembered Selphie. "Hey!"

She giggled. "Well, I didn't think you were so modest. You could tell me to turn away, you know." Smiling, she stood up and walked over to him. "Keep working out. Those are some muscles. Kaylia's gonna like 'em!!" Zell rolled his eyes as she walked out, singing a reprise of "Zell and Kaylia Sitting in a Tree."

"Girls…" He finished changing, ran a comb through his crazy hair, and flew out the door.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You did a wonderful job today! I'm very impressed with your work."

"Yeah, you were really good, Kaylia!"

"Well….thanks…."

"Kaylia!"

The newly initiated SeeD turned to face Zell. His jaw almost dropped, but his eyes definitely widened. She was wearing a black strappy tank top with lattice sides, brown military boots and a pair of tight fitting, flared black leather pants.

"Ah…ah…"

Quistis looked at him curiously. Then, turning to Xu, whispered, "Boys."

Rinoa stood next to Quistis and Squall. "Hey…should we sort of leave them alone?"

"Yeah." Squall nodded. "Let's go."

Zell watched them go. Then, he faced Kaylia. "…sorry. I wish I knew."

"It's really no big deal, Zell." She looked down at the mythril rod which she fought with. "You didn't know."

"No, seriously…" He ran his hand through his hair. "I wanna make it up to you, cause I know that this was important."

"You don't have to." She smiled.

"Well…I'm sorry that I let you down." Zell offered his hand to her. "C'mon."

She took his hand. "All right."

As they walked down the hall, Kaylia spun the rod around in one hand. "Ya know, I think I need to upgrade my weapon. I've had the same old mythril rod since I was eleven. Do they even use mythril for anything anymore?" She looked at it. "What do you think would fit me? I'm thinking about some sort of steel. I don't know." 

"I'm not sure." He was gazing at her, and his mind was somewhat hazy. "But leather would fit you…really well."

She stopped walking. "What?"

Zell stopped too. "What'd I say?"

"_Leather_."

"Leather? I said that? How do you fight with leather?"

Kaylia shook her head. "Nevermind, Zell."

As they walked, they came across Selphie and her committee. Although the Garden Festival was their specialty, they worked around the Garden all year. This time, they were taking the decorations from the dance down.

"Hey!!!" Selphie waved from atop a ladder. Irvine grinned. He was holding the ladder for her. Many of the committee's members got annoyed with Selphie after awhile, but Irvine couldn't get enough of her. "Are you guys busy?"

"No!" Kaylia replied.

"You wanna help me get these streamers down?" Selphie couldn't reach them.

"I'll be right there." Kaylia grinned at Zell. "Be right back, kay?" She climbed up the ladder when Selphie left and reached out for the streamers with her rod. Absentmindedly, Selphie threw a pile of decorations at Irvine when he was holding the ladder. He let the ladder go and it began to wobble. "Hey!" She grasped for something to hold onto as the ladder began to fall. Quickly, she grabbed the streamers and began to fall with the ladder.

"KAYLIA!" Zell shouted.

With the skill of a true SeeD, she swung down from the streamers, holding them like vines. As they fell from the ceiling of the hallway, so did Kaylia, ending up sliding on the floor in front of Selphie, Zell, Irvine, and a few random members of the committee.

"Ta-da!" She grinned. "I got those streamers down."

Zell put his hands on her shoulders. "Are you all right?" He asked, worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It seems they were tacked up there good enough to support me."

"No wonder I was having trouble taking them down." Selphie laughed. "I'm so sorry, Kaylia."

Kaylia stood, dusting off her pants. "I'll let it slide this time." She smiled again. "I actually enjoyed it."

Quistis walked down the hallway and clapped, laughing. "That was quite a stunt. I've never seen anything like it in these hallways at all."

"What can I say? I'm a natural." She giggled.

"Well…anyway, I have mail for you. It's from Trabia Garden." She waved a manila envelope in the air with Trabia's seal on it.

"Oh, great! I was expecting this!" She took the envelope from Quistis. "Thank you."

Zell looked at her curiously. "What's that?"

"Um…just some transfer information, maybe a letter from my old friends. A report on what happened yesterday night."

"Oh."

Kaylia smiled. "Well, Selphie…I had fun. Anytime, OK?"

"Sure!"

Zell followed Kaylia as she walked off. "I thought that whole streamer trick was great. How'd you pull that off?"

She laughed. "I don't know. Held on and prayed that I wouldn't let go." The manila envelope stared up at her. "You know…Zell, I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but…I'd like to open this in private."

"…all right. That's cool."

"I'll find you later. OK?"

"OK." He smiled at her and began to walk off. Almost immediately there was a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and got a kiss on the cheek. "…wow." Kaylia grinned at him.

"Didn't wanna seem cold."

"N-no…you didn't." He pointed behind him. "I…uh…I gotta go. O-K? Wow…" He ran off. _I'm never washing my cheek again! She kissed me! She kissed me! Did she really? Yes, she did! WOW! _

He almost ran into Squall as he came out of his dorm with Rinoa. They both look at him strangely. "Zell, are you all right?" Rinoa asked him curiously.

"She kissed me!"

"Oh Hyne…" Squall almost laughed. "Congratulations, Zell. There's more, too, if you're lucky."

"Squall!" Rinoa punched him. "Zell--" But she was too late. Zell was already off down the hall. "That comment was out of line coming from a commander like you." She smiled.

"…whatever." _I thought it was funny!_

Zell almost danced into his dorm room. He looked in his mirror and grinned, touching the spot on his cheek where she kissed him. "Wow…" His eyes flew over to his nightstand, where next to a picture frame was Kaylia's ring. It slipped off yesterday night. The peridot green stone shimmered softly. He went over to it and picked it up. "I'll bring it to her later." After a second of admiring it, he put it back down and went to take a shower, which he wasn't able to get that morning.

After fifteen minutes in and out of the shower, he threw on his clothes and combed his crazy hair into its usual style. "Kaylia must be done readin' that letter by now." He grabbed the silver ring with the green stone and left his dorm to look for Kaylia.

As he walked down the hall, he felt someone walking behind him. At first, he tried to ignore it, but eventually he turned his head.

"Hey, Zell."

He stopped and looked at the person. "Sierra."

She grinned at him. "Zell…I've gotta talk to you. Now." Her voice was soft and almost seductive. 

"About what? I don't have any time."

"Look…I was on edge the other day. I was under a lot of pressure, and I just exploded to see you with that girl…"

"Sierra…" Zell sighed. "I'm sorry." He started to walk, but she caught up with him.

"Zell…she doesn't deserve you. We belong together. You've only known her for a few days."

Zell chuckled skeptically and stopped walking. "She doesn't deserve me? These past few days she's loved me more than you have in a few months! I don't know why she doesn't deserve me after this. And then after one little event -- something I was trying to do for someone else -- you freaked out and dumped me instead of at least trying to ask what was up." He looked her straight in the eyes. "Sierra, she's the one. She's mine. We're over." Without any sympathy, he walked away from her.

"You'll regret this, Zell Dincht! I swear to you, you will!"

He laughed in his head and walked up to Kaylia's door. "Here goes…" He knocked three times. No answer. Two more times. No answer. "I wonder…" He knocked four more times…no answer. Dejected, he started to walk away.

"Zell?" Kaylia answered the door in her bathrobe. "You caught me by surprise! Come in."

"I wanted to return your ring." He walked in. "Is Rinoa around?"

"No. But I was looking all over for my ring. Thank you so much." He handed it to her. When she took it, their hands touched softly. "Thanks."

"No problem." He looked around, then looked at Kaylia. She stood there in her kimono-style, maroon silk robe. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun, with strands of hair framing her face. "You look good."

"Oh…thanks a lot." She grinned. "I was taking a bath."

"Sorry to interrupt, then." Her nightstand caught his eyes, and he looked at the pictures on top of it. "I didn't know you were good friends with Selphie." 

"Yeah, we were for a while. Then when she left, we grew apart. I saw her after the Trabia bombing…" She trailed off. "but I didn't say anything to her. You were there, too, I remember."

"Yeah."

"I saw the pain in your eyes. Like it was your fault or something…" She chuckled. "But, it was nice to see so much compassion from a member of another Garden. From that point on, I thought of you every day."

"…" Zell looked down. "Kaylia…" He wanted to say it was his fault…but instead, "I knew it was a horrible accident."

She twirled a piece of hair around her finger and gazed into his ice blue eyes. "I knew…you were my one. I put up with Xane for so long…because I knew at the end, there would be you." Smiling, she walked up to him until they were a breath apart. "Over time, I've grown to love you."

"L-love me?" He backed away. "But you've only seen me once!"

"That's all I needed. I was hooked…you had so much compassion. I knew what kind of person you were immediately, as remarkably corny as that sounds." Kaylia reached out and touched his cheek. "We're meant for each other." He froze under her touch, and she leaned in, closed her eyes, and kissed him. Her warm lips gave him a soft, energizing tingle through his whole body.

"Whoa…"

Kaylia opened her eyes, and after realizing what she did, what she said, backed away. "Oh, Zell…Hyne, I'm sorry."

"…it's all right." He whispered softly. "I liked it." 

"Zell…"

"But, I've gotta go. I'll see you later, OK?"

"Um…yeah. Sure." Kaylia smiled. "Forgive me?"

"I'm not angry." Zell returned the smile. "I'm actually…very happy." He took her hand in his. "Bye."

"Bye."

All of a sudden, the door opened and Rinoa walked in. "Hey, Kaylia, do you know…" She looked Zell over and laughed. "What was going on here? Kaylia! And in your robe!"

Zell turned cherry red. "I-I was just leaving." He walked out the door.

Rinoa looked at Kaylia again. "You naughty girl." She cracked up. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Nothing happened…really."

"Really?" She widened her eyes. "Tell me!"

"Well…" Kaylia look at her, then walked over to her bed and sat down. "I think I'm in love."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	4. Mysteries of the Past

****

"Her"

Kaylia couldn't sleep that night. She tossed and turned in her bed for a good portion of an hour until settling down a bit. _Hyne, that was a dumb move. I hope that didn't ruin anything. Hyne, Hyne, Hyne…what do I do now?_

"You have problems?" Rinoa's bed was across the room. She had her head propped on her hands.

"Oh, yeah." Kaylia flipped her covers off and sat up against her headboard. "Lots of them."

"Do they involve a certain blonde with a tattoo?" Rinoa grinned.

Kaylia put her head in her hands. "Very much so." She laid back down. "Zell…he's very curious, you know?"

"I know." The raven haired beauty turned from Kaylia. "I was…sort of going out with him at a time."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She remembered the brief relationship they shared. "Without going real deep into it…it was an experience I'll hold in my heart forever." Rinoa grinned. "But you're lucky, you know. That was a problem time. We thought we loved each other. But, you know…not really." Kaylia nodded. "But you and him…wow."

Kaylia nodded. "But…I caught him off guard and kissed him…I scared him. But then he looked so…relieved." 

"Guys are like that." Rinoa got up and sat next to Kaylia. "What did you say to him?"

"Stuff about Trabia…" Kaylia trailed off. "I saw him when he visited there."

Rinoa's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah." She slanted her head. "What, is he sensitive about Trabia?"

"Not really…" She lied.

"Cause his eyes…" Kaylia hugged her pillow. "I'll never forget them."

Rinoa felt she needed to know. "Well, Kaylia…Hyne, this is kinda hard to say, but…Zell feels that the bombing of Trabia was his fault."

"No way."

"Yeah. He said something he shouldn't have at the wrong time, and…" Rinoa sighed. "He'll never forgive himself, after the rest of the world has."

"That's too bad." Kaylia looked down at the ring on her bedstand. "I didn't know. Now, I wish I hadn't mentioned it."

Rinoa smiled though. "But Zell…you can see in his eyes his attachment to you. You are so lucky."

"But you have Squall. Isn't he a dream?"

"Yeah. I love him to death. But he's so quiet around people. And his eyes have more in their eyes than love. He's got Garden to worry about. Deep down, I used to be like, so mad with all his responsibilities. But…we're happy and always will be."

"Oh. You two are so nice for each other." Kaylia picked up her ring. "I've gotta go talk to Zell." She stood up.

"You should wait till tomorrow."

Kaylia looked at the door. "…you're right." Rinoa got up and slid back into her bed. "Thanks a lot, Rinoa."

"No biggie." She grinned. "I couldn't sleep, either."

Kaylia laid down and pulled her quilt up to her chin. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Zell opened his eyes to a new day. His sleep was somewhat irregular that night. The whole Kaylia thing was over his head. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Zell!" A familiar voice yelled at him through the door. Zell got up and opened it.

"Hey, Nida." 

Dressed in his usual professional manner, Nida saluted him. "There's a special SeeD meeting in the Headmaster's office. You're expected to be there in twenty minutes. It's somewhat sudden, I know…but it's serious."

"Serious?" Zell grinned. "I'm on it." As Nida left, he hopped into action and quickly got ready. 

In twenty minutes exactly, Zell appeared in the Headmaster's office. Also there was a troubled Squall, Rinoa, Seifer, Raijin, and Fuujin (who had all made SeeD only a few months ago, surprisingly enough), Selphie, Irvine, a tired Quistis, Nida, Xu, and a nervous Kaylia. Quistis looked up at Zell. "Zell, you're late."

"Sorry." He slid into a seat next to her. "I was still half asleep."

"Well, you'd better be awake for this." She snapped.

Zell shook his head. _Wonder what's going on…_

Meanwhile, Kaylia looked around at everyone. "Are meetings always so solemn?" 

"This is the first serious one we've had." Rinoa whispered. 

Headmaster Cid flung the door open with a folder of papers and an anxious face. "You're all here? Good." He slid into his seat behind the huge desk in the center of the room. "We have a huge problem." Quistis held her head in her hands. "There seems to be terrorist actions that are threatening Balamb Garden, as well as Balamb."

"What?"

"No way…"

"What are we gonna do?"

"Clearly, we need all of you to be on guard at all times. We've been working through the night and have found out that the terrorists are an organization known as the T.L.M., which through further investigation is the Trabian Liberation Movement. We fear that they blame us for the fall of Trabia Garden…"

Zell closed his eyes. _No way…_

"We need to keep our Garden and Balamb safe. Terrorists are willing to do the impossible for a cause. The students and faculty of Balamb Garden and the citizens of our city are relying on you to look over us."

Kaylia saw Squall glance at her in a furtive manner. He sent a chill down her spine.

Seifer stood. "Headmaster, with all do respect…" He pointed at Kaylia. "What information do we have that _she's_ not against us?" Kaylia looked at him, bewildered. "Hyne knows she's with them! She just transferred from Trabia. How suspicious is that? She can be filtering all this SeeD information to them behind our backs!"

"I am not with them!" Kaylia shouted, standing. "I've known of the T.L.M., but never -- _never_ -- would I work with them!" She sighed. "The leader of the T.L.M. is the man I hate most. He pressured me into it, yeah, but after I knew what they were plotting, I was out. I came here to get away from them."

__

Xane. "I believe her." Everyone looked at Zell.

"Of course you would, _Chicken-Wuss_." Seifer shot at him. "You two are hooked up."

"You stupid--"  
  
"WAIT!" Kaylia screamed. "Stop. Headmaster, please…hear me out."

Headmaster Cid nodded. "Please, Kaylia."

"The T.L.M…they're an organization of students who formed an underground resistance to the reconstruction of Trabia. They wanted to break off and start a new Garden in which they would preach hatred to the world and powerful black magic. But…they started off by plotting against one person. Zell…"

Squall looked at her. "Are you telling us the truth?"

"I'm serious! I swear!" Kaylia sighed. "Don't ask me how they found out about Zell and everything. I don't know. But…they wanted him dead. They blamed him for the decline of Trabia."

Zell's eyes widened. His one stupid mistake came back to haunt him. "I…I don't believe this…"

"Well, _do_ believe it. I came here to get away from them…and protect Zell. If I stayed there, I'd be killed. Xane…he knew how I felt about it."

"Xane…yes, that boy…" Headmaster trailed off. "The notorious leader of the T.L.M. Twenty-two years of age, 6'3", a master of thievery and deception ….and a threat to us." He looked at Kaylia. "Tell me, Ms. Paridisia, how did you get involved with him?"

"A false faith, I guess…" Kaylia sighed. "But we need to keep Zell safe. It's so important that we're able to ruin their first mission. Hyne forbid that they succeed…they'll be unstoppable."

"How about a relocation?" Xu suggested. "If we keep Zell out of reach, we can deal with them."

"Makes sense." Quistis said.

"Hey, do I get a say in what's gonna happen to me?" Zell asked sarcastically. "_I'm_ not going anywhere. I'd rather stay here and help."

Cid sighed. "Everyone can leave. As of now, Zell, any plans for you are suspended until further notice."

Kaylia got up and left the room before anyone else. She was embarrassed and angry, mostly with Seifer. He had no grounds to base his accusation on. Yet…

"Hey."

"What, _Seifer_?" She asked without even turning around.

She heard him take two strides until his face was by her ear. "You do anything…_anything…_to hurt Garden--or even _Zell_…and you'll regret it forever. You understand?"

Her breathing became rapid. "Leave me alone."

"Fine. Just consider yourself warned." He patted her shoulder and walked away from her. She turned around and saw everyone else, sans Nida and Xu, behind her. They had moved to the side to let Seifer, Fuujin, and Raijin pass. 

Quistis had a frown on her face. "Kaylia…" She reached out to her.

"Don't even, Quistis…" Kaylia glared at her and walked away.

Rinoa looked at Zell and tapped his shoulder. "Go after her…" She mouthed speechlessly. When he wouldn't move, she shoved him. "_Go_!" She shouted.

"I-I can't…" His head fell.

For the first time, Squall walked forward. "Zell…go."

"…What?"

"I believe her. Go."

Zell's eyes flashed momentarily before running after her. Squall smiled inwardly. _Zell has courage. I don't know what form…but he's got it._

Meanwhile, Kaylia was already far from the rest of the group. She felt so jumbled up because of everything…but she had to do what she had to do. Suddenly, she passed a window that faced Balamb. The bright lights of the small city attracted her to relax at the window. It had her home beat. Until she was five, she was raised in Winhill, which was normally quiet and dormant. Her mother was the silent streets…her father, the velvet night sky. Home life was hard, and she left it behind for the comfort of being alone. When she had finally left Winhill and spread her wings…it was a dream. 

"Beautiful." She whispered, and touched the glass lightly with her fingers.

__

Where in hell is she? Zell had stopped running, and was just silently roaming the halls. He wasn't sure if she even wanted to see him. _This is crazy…Hyne. _Suddenly, he felt something telling him to walk a little bit further. Normally, he wouldn't, but the hold that this feeling had over him brought him to her window. 

She knew he was there. There was an apparent electricity between them. Yet, she didn't turn around. The lights of Balamb were much too appealing, and she was confused with him, anyway.

"What do you want?" She asked him wearily. 

Zell tried to hide behind an air of happiness. "Isn't Balamb pretty at night?"

"It's a lot nicer than Winhill…" Kaylia turned around. "Why are you here? I thought all of you were mad at me or something."

"No!" Zell shook his head. "Everyone is mad at Seifer. We saw what he said to you. That wasn't really fair, ya know?"

"Tell me about it. Has he always been an arrogant little jerk?" 

"Yeah." Without much thought, he tucked a few strands of her silvery hair behind her ears. "So…what did you say about Winhill?"

Kaylia smiled. "Hometown. It was nice for a while, but my family kinda sucked. My best friend, Kael, took me under his arm and we lived in the streets for awhile. He was a mediocre thief--and about five years older than me--so we got by. But I had big dreams of going to a Garden, so as time passed, we got together all we had and went to Trabia." She sighed. "Kael is a member of the T.L.M. now."

"Guess you've put all that stuff behind you?"

"Uh-huh. Why dwell on it?" Kaylia laughed. "I'm just another girl with no family that went to a military Garden. Luckily, I wasn't stuck in an orphanage or something."

"Whatever happened to your parents?"

"Dead."

"Oh." Zell looked at Balamb. He could almost see his house from where they were standing. "Do you want to go there?"

"I'd love to."

He smiled. "Later today?"

Kaylia's face glowed in happiness. "You'd really take me?"

"Sure. My mom lives there. You two would totally love each other."

"Oh, thank you Zell!!!" Kaylia hugged his neck. "This is going to be so much fun! I love you!"

"Ah…air…" He choked. Kaylia let him go. "I'm long overdue for a visit to Ma anyway. Unfortunately, she never writes or anything. She knows I come to see her all the time." 

"It's nice that you're close with your mom." 

"Hey! You guys!" Irvine stood a few feet from them. "C'mon."

The two blondes looked at each other. "We'll be right there!" They said at the same time. 

"All right…suit yourself." Irvine smiled and left.

Kaylia rubbed the back of her head. "Well, I guess I'll see you later?"

"Yeah…I guess so." Zell started to walk away. "Meet me here. OK?"

"OK." Kaylia watched Zell leave before going to find Rinoa in their room. It was still early in the morning, and only a few students were up.

"Hey…Rin?" Kaylia opened her door and walked in. "You here?" 

To her surprise, Selphie bounded to her. "Kaylia! Guess what? I'm staying over!"

"That's great!" Kaylia sat on her bed. "Where's Rinoa?"

"In the bathroom." Selphie looked at her curiously. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Between you and Zell. I know something happened. You can tell, cause you don't look like you did when we left the meeting."

"Well--"

"Well what?" Rinoa came out of the bathroom and sat next to Kaylia. "Are you OK from before?"

"I'm fine. I was just telling Selphie that…I'm gonna go to Balamb with Zell."

Selphie and Rinoa squealed. "That's so cool!" Selphie laughed. "You're gonna have so much fun!"

"Wait, wait, wait…" Rinoa smiled. "What are you gonna wear?"

Kaylia shook her head. "I don't know…"

"WELL, although SeeDs have big military-beat-up-the-bad-guy lives," Rinoa began, "some of us still like to act like thirteen year olds."

"We're gonna help you get ready." Selphie took some of Kaylia's hair.

"You really…don't have to…" Kaylia said softly as the two girls started to fool around with her hair. "I can do it myself."

"But we want to!" Rinoa mock frowned. "This is what friends do."

So, for the next three hours, Rinoa, Selphie, and Kaylia played music and gave Kaylia a total make-over. At two o' clock on the dot, Kaylia was made up, dressed, styled, cleaned, perfumed, and ready.

She looked in the mirror for the first time, since Selphie and Rinoa wouldn't let her. "Wow. This is really nice." 

Selphie had done her hair into a tight bun with Kaylia's hair sticks. A few pieces of blonde fell out accidentally, but it only made it look more pretty. She had also done Kaylia's face with light make-up, but just enough to make her shine.

Rinoa, on the other hand, did all the clothes. In the end, Kaylia wore a pink halter top with black pants. She also wore her simple black boots, which wasn't Rinoa's idea, but she couldn't do anything about it.

"That looks so good on you." Selphie said. "It's 'cause you're tall."

"Yeah. Mrs. Dincht is gonna love you." Rinoa smiled. 

Kaylia nodded. "I've really gotta hand it to you guys. I like this a lot."

"Zell'll like it too." Selphie giggled.

"Well, I guess I should get going…" Kaylia hugged both of them. "Thanks so much."

"This is what we love to do." Rinoa laughed. "Have fun."

As Kaylia walked out the door, Selphie and Rinoa gave each other a high five. "Maybe this is just what Zell and Kaylia need." Rinoa grinned.

"Rinoa!"

"I'm only joking. But anyway…"

"What?"

"Let the games begin!"

Selphie laughed at her. "What the heck do you mean by that?"

"Hmm…I don't know. But I'm sure it'll have some purpose…" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


	5. Love in Balamb

****

"Her"

"Where is she?" Zell leaned against the wall by the window. 

Irvine, who had helped him get ready--again--grinned. "She's coming. Don't worry." He took off his hat and spun it around his finger. "You're just anxious."

"Anxious? Me? Well…yeah, a little. It's just that I've never done this…just the two of us. You guys always come along. Ma still thinks I'm a little kid."

"Then, this'll be quite a milestone." Irvine was about to say something else, but he saw Kaylia and dropped his hat.

"What's up?" Zell turned around and saw what Irvine was gaping at. "W-w-w-whoa."

Kaylia waved at him from across the hall. Irvine grabbed his hat. "Well, uh…I'd better get going. Good luck, Zell." He left quickly, weaving through the crowd.

"Hey, Zell." Kaylia said, stopping in front of Zell. A few guys had to stop for a moment, or at least stare at her while they were still walking. "Is this outfit all right?" She modeled for him, with a quizzical look on her face.

"Um…yeah." He squeaked. "Great."

"Good. Because I didn't know how you would react…" She grinned. "We're gonna have so much fun today!"

Zell tried to regain himself. "Ma usually lets me stay the night. When Squall and everyone comes with us, we do that. It's fun."

"Well, I don't wanna be any trouble…"

"If Ma will let six kids stay, I'm sure two ain't gonna be any big deal."

"Guess you're right…" Kaylia grabbed his arm. "Are we gonna go or what?"

"Yeah, sure. Want to catch the train?"

"Train?"

"A train was built from the Garden to Balamb after Ultimecia….just to make transportation easy. Actually, it was all Selphie's idea. The station is right outside of the Garden."

"Cool!" Kaylia and Zell walked down the halls. "So, what's up with your mom?"

"Ah, she's really nice. Everyone in Balamb likes her, cause she takes care of all the families and everything. You'll like her a lot. But if you were wondering, she's only my adoptive Ma. I don't know anything about my real Ma. But I have these weird dreams about her."

At this point, they were at the front gate. "Really?" Kaylia asked.

"Yeah. She always apologizing to me and stuff. And I see her too. She's got blue eyes, like me…and like, black-brown hair. I must've got the blonde from my dad…but I never dream about him."

"My dad was cool. It was my mom who ruined my life." Kaylia sighed. "She was a powerful woman in Winhill. Good with magic and everything. And my dad was a hunter. It was a weird profession at the time and place, but he refined what he hunted into stuff the community used. But no one liked my mom, although she had the power to kill them all. She used to go into these crazy rages…the magic she used got to her after awhile. It was a weird case." She and Zell walked into the station. "What was funny, though, was that she loved me and my brother with all of her heart."

"You had a brother?"

"Yeah. He was like, ten years older than me, though. We never really talked or anything. Kinda doin his own thing. I don't care. But anyway…my mom loved us so much, she never let us do anything. I ran away with Kael with my dad's consent, actually. He trusted Kael, only because he was ten and I was five. If I hadn't gotten away, my mom would've locked me up. My brother never left, though…I don't know what happened to him. Last I heard, though, the only person in my family that was dead was my mom. I consider my dad dead only because I haven't heard of or from him. And my brother…oh well."

__

The train for Balamb is leaving in five minutes…

"We'd better go." Zell took Kaylia's hand and they walked into the train and took their seats. "You know your brother's name?"

"Alastair. My father was Alastair Senior and my mother was…I don't even remember."

The train ride was extremely quick --- a train ride from Garden to Balamb usually was. When they got off, Kaylia's eyes were round. Zell watched her as she looked around.

"This is my home."

"It's by the sea! This is wonderful!" She ran ahead of him and saw boats going in and out of the harbor. "This is the perfect town to raise kids in…"

"C'mon!" Zell hated to bother her. "My house is right over here!"

They walked over to his front door. "Is she home?"

"Always." Zell opened the door and walked in. "Ma! I'm home!"

"Zell?" Ma Dincht walked to the door. "Zell! My baby is home!!!" She hugged him tightly. "It's so good to see you! Zell!"

"Maaa!" 

Kaylia stood in the doorway quietly. Ma Dincht saw her and let go of Zell. "Who's this beautiful young girl?"

"I'm Kaylia Paridisia. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Dincht."

"Ms. Dincht. My husband passed last year. But call me Ma. Everyone else does." She hugged Kaylia, too. "It's so nice to see my Zell with a beautiful girl! You're always welcome here."

"Thank you."

"Well, let me let you two get all settled, and…" Ma Dincht coughed.

"You okay, Ma?" Zell asked.

"Just a cold, nothing to worry about." She smiled. "The weather's getting cooler. That's just it." Zell shook his head. "Now, Zell, I'm fine. Let's get your friend all comfortable in our home!" She took Kaylia's hand. "Sweetie, the kitchen and living room are down here. All the other rooms are upstairs. It's quite an easy setup. There's an extra bedroom that you can relax in."

"OK. Thanks. From what I've seen of your home, it's lovely."

"Ah, you're going to enjoy yourself."

"I'm sure I will."

Zell intervened. "Well, Ma, I'm going to show Kaylia around…we'll be back to help you for dinner." He grabbed Kaylia's hand. "I'm gonna show you the upstairs."

"All right." Kaylia smiled. "It's nice to meet you…Ma Dincht."

"My pleasure, sweetheart."

Zell led Kaylia up the stairs. "Right here…this is my room. I don't let anyone in there, but you can. That's the bathroom, closet, Ma's room…and the guest room is at the end of the hall. It's got a nice view."

Kaylia walked into the guest room. "Gee, I love your house. It's so nice to get out of a dumb dorm room." She sat on the bed. 

"Tell me about it." Zell sat next to her. "You can look right at the ocean from that window right there."

"…I can also see it in your eyes." Kaylia giggled. "Really. All that blue."

He laughed. "Thanks a lot." Kaylia laid back on the bed. "What about your eyes? Hmm…." He leaned over her. "Just a lotta green."

She rubbed his hair. "'Just a lotta green?'" He tried to dodge her hands from his head and stood up. "That's it?"

"Yeah!" He laughed as he sidestepped her. "But a nice green. Emerald."

"Yup. But hey, I don't see anything in them either." Kaylia went to walk towards him and tripped over her boots. "Ah!"

Zell grabbed her arms. "Watch out now."

"I'm fine." She moved away from him and walked down the hall. "I wanna see your room."

"No you don't!"

She walked into his room and looked around, grinning. "Hey, this is cool." Zell stopped right behind her. "I like your room a lot."

"Thanks."

Again, she sat down on the bed. "Nice bed."

"Yup. This room is my life. I never had my own room at the orphanage. When I came here, Ma made me feel special."

Suddenly, Zell heard Ma coughing from downstairs, louder than she did before. "Ma?!" He ran downstairs with Kaylia.

Ma Dincht was sitting at the table with her hand on her chest. "Zell…" She pointed to the sink.

He ran and got her a glass of water. "Are you OK?"

"…just a little tickle." She coughed once more and took another sip of water.

"That wasn't a little tickle." Zell sat down at the table. "That didn't sound like a little cold."

"Don't worry about it, Zell. I'm fine."

"Ms. Dincht, maybe you should see a doctor." Kaylia said softly. "It could develop into something serious."

"No, no…I've had this for a while now. I'm living, aren't I?"

"Awhile! _Ma!"_

"Zell, please! I'm sure you two had something planned. Go enjoy yourselves."

Reluctantly, he got up from the table. "Maybe I'll get you some cough drops or something." Kaylia walked over to him. "See you around, Ma."

When they got outside, Kaylia shook her head. "I hope your mom is OK."

"Ah, she'll be fine. She's always like that. But I wanna get her some cough drops just in case."  


"What you should get her is a doctor." They walked down the street. "You must've had…a nice childhood."

"Yeah," Zell replied. He was walking jauntily, with his hands in his pockets. "It hasn't really changed. Been here since I was seven." He sighed. "I was so happy that Garden was so close to here. Like…if I had to give up my Ma and my home for so long, I probably would've went nuts."

Kaylia seemed to be studying the area. She was looking around with intensity, but she quickly stopped. "Beautiful." Grinning, she repeated what she had said earlier. "Great place to raise kids."

He nodded. "Yup. I'll never leave."

Ironically, two little children, a boy and a girl, ran past them as they walked. Both had golden blonde hair and were laughing as they chased a ball. Kaylia stopped and watched intently. Zell didn't understand, but he just stood next to her. 

The two kids ran up to a man who was obviously their father. He didn't look that old, not even thirty. 

Zell didn't know what was so interesting until he noticed the man's features…he had those same green eyes…light hair. Physically, he bore resemblance to ---

"No way." Kaylia squinted her eyes. "No way in hell…"

"What?" Zell inquired.

She suddenly remembered Zell was standing there. "Oh! Nothing…don't worry about it." Kaylia grabbed his arm. "Let's go get those cough drops."

He didn't want to pry, so he dropped it. "OK, c'mon."

They had to go to the Item Shop for medicines. It was only a few steps away from where they were, and Zell noticed Kaylia still glancing at the man out a window. Still, he kept silent. 

When they got outside, Kaylia was still watching. This time, Zell didn't just look on. "Hey, Kayli…who is that?"

"Huh?" She stopped walking and looked at him. "Um…I don't know. He just looks so familiar." The man was just sitting on a bench, staring out at the ocean as the two children ran around him. "Don't ask me why."

Suddenly, the ball rolled over to the pair and bumped into Kaylia's feet. She picked it up and walked to the two children, who were too nervous to come over and get it.

"Here ya go." Kaylia kneeled and gave the boy the ball. "Keep an eye on the ball next time, all right?" She grinned at them.

"Thanks, lady!" The little boy looked at her with round, honey-colored eyes. 

"Hey lady," His sister tugged at her arm. "What's your name?"

"My name? I'm Kaylia!" She smiled again. "And you?"

"I'm Nayri!" The girl pointed to her brother. "And that's Mazi!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you…Nayri and Mazi. But --- I have someone waiting for me." She stood up. 

"OK! Bye, lady!" Mazi waved at her.

Kaylia nodded and walked back to Zell. "Let's roll."

"Cute." He motioned towards the little boy. "I hope he didn't try to steal ya away from me." Zell joked.

The blonde giggled. "Don't worry, Zell." She took him by the hand and they walked back to his house. However, Zell couldn't help but think about that family they met, and if they would ever see them again…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After a wonderful dinner and a pleasant evening, Ma Dincht left for bed quite early --- it was only nine thirty. Kaylia and Zell were left alone, staring at each other from across the dinner table.

"…so…"

"…so…?" Kaylia giggled and twirled a piece of her hair around her finger. She had let it down a few hours ago, and it fell around her like a blonde blanket. "Your mom is an amazing person."

"I know."

"Now I know where you got it from."

Zell smiled and shook his head. "Nah…I think I'm just naturally amazing," He joked.

"Yeah," Kaylia rolled her eyes playfully. "I'll believe it when I see it, OK?"

"Aw, come on Kayli…" He laughed.

She was about to say something, but yawned. "Wow…big meals make me so tired."

"Me too. Ya going upstairs?"

"Yeah." She stood up. "You?"

"Right behind you." 

Zell and Kaylia went to their respective rooms for the night to change into pajamas, making sure not to wake Ma. Kaylia was absolutely thrilled about everything that was happening to her and where she was. The first thing she did when she closed her bedroom door was open her bay window to let a light ocean breeze into the room. The view was beautiful, and she found herself sitting and staring at the rolling ocean, entranced.

On the other hand, Zell was much more entranced with the girl across the hall than the ocean. He collapsed on his bed --- not out of exhaustion, but out of astonishment. _I…I can't believe it. Ma likes her, I like her…but do I _love_ her? _Zell closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment. _Funny. Only met her a few days ago…but still. Ah, better not to really question it. All things happen for a reason…right? Right. _He got up and changed into a pair of navy colored shorts and a white tank before slipping under the sheets of his bed. Moonlight cast a soft glow across his room as he closed his eyes. 

__

…only a few days. Not a few months --- nowhere near years. I mean, how many times does this sorta thing happen? It's not love…Hyne, it just can't be. That's crazy. 

But look at Rinoa and Squall. How long did they know each other? Maybe sometimes it just happens like that. I dunno. …It's just like a dream…I always dreamed of a pretty, smart, funny girl like Kayli…is this it? 

Zell was thinking extremely hard, because he didn't notice his door open slowly. He was facing the wall as a shadowy figure tiptoed over and sat at the edge of his bed. 

"Hey, Zell…"

"…?!" He flipped to his side and squinted in the darkness. "…Kayli?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded. "Yeah."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, um…I can't sleep." She smiled in the dark. "As much as I adore the room and all…I hate sleeping alone."

"Oh…"

"Are…are you mad?" 

He felt her reach out and touch his arm. "No, I'm not mad. Just surprised…an' half asleep."

"All right. I won't bother you, then." She then proceeded to climb under the covers.

"Kayli…??"

"What?"

Zell sat up. "I thought you said you were goin' back to bed." 

"No, I said I wasn't gonna bother you." The moonlight revealed her face to Zell…he could see her cheeks flush. "But I'll go back…sorry." She stood up and walked to the door.

"No, hey…" Zell tried to stop her. "Kayli, you can stay here. I'm sure my Ma wouldn't mind…she doesn't open doors in the morning anyway, an' as long as nothing was goin on, if ya know what I mean…"

Kaylia giggled. "Thanks, Zell." She returned to Zell's bed and slipped under the covers. "You're a great guy."

"No…problem." He paused because he suddenly realized that there was a girl. In his bed. He was facing her, and two bright emerald eyes peered at him. 

"G'night."

"Night." Zell closed his eyes, but opened them in a flash as he felt Kaylia snuggle up against his body. She was warm, and smelled like flowers. "Um…Kayli…?"

"Yeah, Zell?" She whispered.

"I was meaning to ask you something today."

"What?" Kaylia grinned and nestled her head against his chest. 

"…did you know that guy? With the kids?"

Kaylia suddenly looked up at him. The tension between them built slightly. "Zell…I dunno. He looked familiar, but that's it. All I know."

"Oh…cause it just looked like you did." He smiled softly. "Sorry."

"Nah, I don't care. I was expecting you to ask sooner or later, anyway." She laid her head back down against him. "This is nice."

"Yeah…" 

Suddenly, Kaylia took Zell's arm and laid it across her waist. He thought about taking it away for a split second, but her touch was one of the best things he'd felt in a long time. Zell sighed and drew her closer to him. He could hear her breathing softly, as she drifted off to sleep. Almost in an instant he was out himself, lulled by the ocean outside and Kaylia right next to him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

****


End file.
